Fleet budgeting ranked first among 11 major fleet management topics listed in an Arsenault Associates survey with more than 47 percent of respondents selecting it, according to Arsenault information.
“Fleet managers are challenged to control and reduce costs, not just keep the fleet on the street,” said Charles Arsenault, chief executive officer of Arsenault Associates. “They are required to account for fleet maintenance expenses in detail more than ever before. Being able to develop an operating expense plan and then manage it is what budgeting is all about.”
The second most-selected topic was capital expense planning as more than 38 percent of the respondents chose the topic of equipment life cycle costing.
Arsenault contacted fleet managers by email, inviting them to click on a link to a survey site. The survey was conducted and the results were tabulated by an independent company, SurveyShare.com. More than 200 fleet managers took part in the survey.
Other topics in the survey included driver/mechanic management, selected by 31 percent of the respondents; tire management, 30 percent; equipment specification, 28 percent; wireless computing, 24 percent; purchasing, 23 percent; downtime analysis, 23 percent; warranty management, 23 percent; accident tracking, 21 percent; and vendor management, 18 percent.
“The concerns reflected in the survey indicate that fleet managers are being held more accountable for financial management in addition to their fleet maintenance operational responsibilities."